This invention relates to record member dispensing systems, and more particularly, it relates to currency dispensing systems.
Counting and dispensing currency is an important function which is performed by both bank tellers and the recently-introduced, Automated Teller Terminals (ATT's) which perform the counting and currency dispensing operation as one of their important functions.
With regard to ATT's, there are two basic currently-used, methods of dispensing currency to a customer. The first method is to package pre-determined amounts of currency in the form of envelopes or clips, with each such envelope or clip containing, for example, ?25.00 or ?50.00 when used with U.S.A. currency. The dispensing operation consists of dispensing the desired number of envelopes to equal the total monetary amount requested (in multiples of an amount per envelope) by a customer in a valid transaction.
The second general method of dispensing currency via ATT's is to store a stack of currency or bills within the terminal for each denomination of currency to be dispensed and to utilize a picker mechanism to pick a desired number of such bills from the appropriate stack of currency until the predetermined amount requested by the customer is dispensed. With this second method, costly hardware is required to check on the actual number of bills being dispensed, as this method is susceptible to picking off more than one bill at a time from the stack of currency. As a result of "double picking" of the bills, it is necessary to provide a "reject hopper" within the terminal where suspected miscounts of currency can be routed instead of delivering the suspected miscounts of currency to the customer access receptacle associated with the ATT. Because of the "double picking" situation mentioned, the supply of currency within the ATT is utilized sooner than would be the case if accurate counting were effected on the first try for each demand from a customer, thereby increasing the costs for servicing the terminal. Additionally, the provision of a reject hopper and the associated mechanisms for handling currency feeding errors increases the purchase cost of the ATT's.